IFPRI CA News Digest (March 1, 2017 – March 7, 2017)

March 7, 2017

NewsADB President Visits Uzbekistan to Strengthen Partnership, Signs 4 New Loan Agreements
(3 March 2017 ADB) ADB President Takehiko Nakao signed four new loan agreements totaling $573 million. The sum will be divided among the Small Business Finance Project ($100 million), the Tashkent Province Water Supply Development Project ($121 million), the Horticultural Value Chain Development Project ($154 million), and the Kashkadarya Regional Road project ($198 million).

Turkmen banks to give farmers preferential loans
(6 March 2017 Turkmenistan.ru) Banks in Turkmenistan will give private sector farmers preferential loans. These loans will be used for the acquisition of agricultural, water-saving, and irrigation equipment.

Not all laboratories ready for introduction of EEU technical regulations
(6 March 2017 24.kg) Kyrgyz economic minister Arzybek Kozhoshev disclosed that a large amount of equipment needed to conduct sanitary and quarantine inspections has been delayed, making it less likely that Kyrgyzstan will be able to meet its commitments to the Eurasian Economic Union on time. Under EEU agreements, Kyrgyzstan was given a transition period to upgrade its inspections capabilities to match those of its partners. Deputy economic minister Almaz Sazbakov pointed to procedural issues in Russia’s legislature, which had earmarked $200 million in technical assistance funds, as a reason for the delay.

IFC supports transformation of cotton sector in Uzbekistan
(7 March 2017 Times of Central Asia) The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, is launching a new program in Uzbekistan in order to help cotton farmers improve their production efficiency, safeguard the environment, and improve labor practices. This program is part of an effort by IFC to accelerate Uzbekistan’s economic growth by modernizing one of the country's most important industries.

EAEU sign several documents on cooperation
(7 March 2017 Trend) Heads of governments of the Eurasian Economic Union signed a number of documents on further cooperation and integration during a meeting of the Eurasian intergovernmental council in Bishkek. One of these documents was on joint forecasts of the development of the agro-industrial complex and of demand and supply of major agricultural products in 2016 – 2017. The parties also agreed to launch production of components for agricultural machinery and equipment in the EAEU member countries and on measures to develop exports of this machinery and equipment to third countries.

Other InformationOver Two Million Children in Kazakhstan to Benefit from Better Education with World Bank Support
(1 March 2017 World Bank) The World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors has approved US$67 million in financing for an Education Modernization Project to improve quality and equity in the primary and secondary education system in Kazakhstan. It is expected that over 2.6 million schoolchildren will benefit from a better learning curriculum and improved quality of teaching, especially in rural and disadvantaged schools in the country.

Workshop Discusses Kazakhstan's Urban Water Supply, Sanitation Issues
(1 March 2017 ADB) Urban development experts, private sector specialists, key government officials, representatives of oblast administrations, and experts from international financial institutions attended a two-day workshop to discuss Kazakhstan’s urban water supply and sanitation infrastructure needs. The workshop, which focused on the infrastructure investment needs and financing modalities of the sector, was jointly organized by the Ministry of Investment and Development, the ADB, and the EBRD.

Tajikistan, Russia prepare draft agreement on organized recruitment of labor migrants
(1 March 2017 Asia Plus) Tajik and Russian experts met in Moscow on February 28 to discuss a draft agreement on organized recruitment of labor migrants in Tajikistan for seasonal work in Russia. This is after an agreement between the Ministry of Labor, Migration and Employment of the Population of Tajikistan and the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection of Russia for cooperation on labor and employment was signed in Dushanbe on February 27.

Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan to cooperate on transport, energy
(7 March 2017 AP) Turkmen president Gurbanguly Berymukhamedov hosted his Uzbek counterpart Shavkat Mirziyoyev in Ashgabat, which marked the latter’s first foreign visit since becoming president in 2016. The leaders of the two countries agreed to cooperate in exporting electricity to Afghanistan and Pakistan and developing additional energy routes westward through the Caspian Sea.

The articles included in this news digest have been generated from online sources. Any opinions stated herein are not representative of, or endorsed by, the International Food Policy Research Institute or its partners.